


sugarcane in the easy morning

by teenagedreamin



Category: One Direction (Band)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Future, Domestic Fluff, Established Relationship, Fluff, Harry loves Louis a whole fucking lot, Louis Tomlinson Loves Harry Styles, M/M, Original Female Character(s) - Freeform, Tooth-Rotting Fluff
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-05-04
Updated: 2015-05-04
Packaged: 2018-03-29 02:22:04
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,273
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/3878542
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/teenagedreamin/pseuds/teenagedreamin
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>In his 34 years, it's safe to say Louis has had a lot of wild nights. Some nights, the word wild doesn't begin to cover it. Nights where he wasn't even sure he'd make it home, without being arrested or murdered. Nights like the one in Belgium, which neither him nor Niall speak of and that Harry doesn't even know about. God. He fights off the shivers as he thinks about Belgium. </p><p>The point is, he's been on his toes in thousands of situations, out of his element and still controlling the situation countless times. He's best under pressure. He's had a gun to his head 3 times and a knife at his throat almost twice that amount (and they say being a boyband member is all fluff and rainbows) and each and every time he's talked his way out of it. He hasn't yet met a situation where he can't fix. </p><p>Except tonight. This terror is unstoppable. And it's in the form of a 5 year old blonde little girl with pudgy cheeks and bright blue eyes.</p>
            </blockquote>





	sugarcane in the easy morning

In his 34 years, it's safe to say Louis has had a lot of wild nights. Some nights, the word wild doesn't begin to cover it. Nights where he wasn't even sure he'd make it home, without being arrested or murdered. Nights like the one in Belgium, which neither him nor Niall speak of and that Harry doesn't even know about. God. He fights off the shivers as he thinks about Belgium.

 

The point is, he's been on his toes in thousands of situations, out of his element and still controlling the situation countless times. He's best under pressure. He's had a gun to his head 3 times and a knife at his throat almost twice that amount (and they say being a boyband member is all fluff and rainbows) and each and every time he's talked his way out of it. He hasn't yet met a situation where he can't fix.

 

Except tonight. This terror is unstoppable. And it's in the form of a 5 year old blonde little girl with pudgy cheeks and bright blue eyes that look almost exactly like his. She's staring across the kitchen counter from him with vanilla icing smeared across her face. "Papa." She's saying, voice sharp. "You know what Dada's recipe told us to do."

 

"Lo", Louis tries to match her tone because there's no way in hell his four year old can out condescend him on this. "Lo, you can't even read Dada's recipe. I promise you it says sugar, not salt." Lo, or Lorelei, clicks her tongue at him. "We're baking a cake. It has to be sweet.  For Dada's birthday. Because Dada's sweet too."

 

Adriana, who's trying to wipe the flower off her nightgown, wrinkles her nose. "Papa, please. You're being cheesy. Maybe you and Dad spend too much time together." The early morning sun makes her the green in her eyes sharp and sparkling. She's the oldest of their kids at 9, and she's as sharp as a whip. They adopted her when she was barely 6 months and she's just as beautiful as she was then, dark skin and big hazel eyes with long eyelashes and lion's mane of light brown curls. Louis flicks a handful of four on her just for saying he's cheesy.

 

"Pa! Pa! Pa! Pa pa pa!" Alex is sitting in his highchair, throwing his goldfish at the wall.

 

"Oi! Alexander Bryce Tomlinson, what the hell do you think you are doing?" The booming Dad voice has taken over and he lowers the goldfish in his pudgy hands and looks at Louis with wide green-grey eyes. A questioning "pa?" leaves his mouth. His nearly black curls are matted to his head with apples juices and graham cracker remnants. At just under a year old, he's the youngest and arguably the cutest for the time being.

 

"No, sir, you know better than that." Louis walks over to the chair. Louis doesn't yell at his children (partially because that's something he feels is fundamentally wrong, based on his own childhood and partially because Harry would castrate him if he ever did), but they definitely know when he's upset at them and when he's not. "Adri, please help Lo stir the batter while I clean your brother up."

 

The chiming of "yes papa" follows him as he takes the youngest out of his highchair and carries him to the bathroom. He sets him on the counter and one handedly grabs and wets a towel. Alex wriggles ridiculously murmuring "Col, Papa, 's col"

He rewets the towel with warm water, sighing slightly. It's too early for this.

 

Five in the morning on a Saturday and waking up everyone but Harry because it's his birthday and goddamnit, Louis wants to surprise him and make his boy happy. Lo was the one who wanted to make the coconut cake, and because it was Harry's favorite, Louis agreed they could try. Now it's 5:30 and they're doing better than Louis expected. He knows the pace should be faster because Harry will be up by 8:30, no matter how well Louis worked him over the night before. He's got some kind of internal clock that Louis just doesn't understand.

 

There's a knock on the door as Louis is finishing up, cooing softly to Alex, who's starting to fall asleep. "Come in," Louis says and Alex jolts awake at the change in tone.

 

"Papa..." Lo is standing there and while she's significantly much messier than before she's smiling proudly. "Me and Adri finished mixing it. There's no lumps. We even poured it into the pan. Now all that's left is to put it in the oven."

 

"Thank you princess, that's wonderful." Louis is smiling as well. "I'll put it in in a mo'. You can wash up in this bathroom when I finish with your brother, alright? Tell your sister to use the other bathroom."

 

"Okay, Papa."

 

"Thanks for your help, love. And remember that if you hurry, we can all go to the bakery for Dada's breakfast and you'll get extra treats."  

 

She squeals down the hallway with a smile and Louis finishes with Alex, humming happily along the way. Maybe she isn't such a terror after all.

  
  


Less than twenty minutes later all of the Tomlinson children are sparkling and dressed and there's a cake in the oven. He debates if leaving with a cake in is a  responsible thing to do, but they won't be gone for long. Harry's here, and although he shouldn't wake up but on the off chance he does, Louis leaves a note.

 

The bakery isn't far and the chocolate croissants it makes are worth more than they're charged for in Louis' opinion, but he's not complaining. The kids are worked up like something else though, jumping in their seat and singing happy birthday to frost on the windows and complaining about Louis' music choices.

 

They're still bundles of chaos when they get there and waiting for the food without Lo or Alex knocking over tables seems impossible. Adriana is standing by Louis' side, observing her surroundings.Apparently everyone in the bakery seems to find Alex and Lo a charming pair. An old women even gives them candy claiming how well they behave.

 

(They give Louis the candy, because they were taught better than to accept candy from strangers and eat it. Louis chucks it in the bushes when the woman isn't looking and smiles her when she walks out and he's still rounding them up. )

  


Back at the house, Louis pulls the cake out and let's the girls decorate it. (Louis had warned them blatantly "If so much as a drop of icing gets on you after you've bathed, I'll have your head for breakfast instead.") Alex is sleeping. Adriana is keeping the situation in relative control. Better than Louis would have at her age. Hell, Louis was instigating it at her age. He's so thankful for her having Harry's temperament.

 

He's making tea and keeping the croissants warm. It's about 7 now and Harry's bound to be up soon. Louis hands twitch slightly, a sign of nervousness he still hasn't figured out how to drop. Even after more 16 years doing things to make Harry smile, he always has the doubt in his mind that Harry won't like it, that it's a stupid idea.

 

There's more to his nervousness than just simple Harry not being impressed by the cake. It's something Louis found out last week, that he has yet to tell Harry and that Harry might not want to hear. Might not want. Maybe Louis' been reading him wrong after all. Louis is going to tell him this morning after breakfast and the thought is starting to make him queasy. He pulls on his fingers and frowns.

 

He feels a tugging on his shirt (Harry's shirt, actually) and looks down. Lorelei is standing there with her hip out and arms crossed. She gestures to the counter and Louis picks her up. "Papa, what're you thinking?"

 

"Nothing, princess." He says, but his hands shake just the slightest. Lo doesn't notice, but Adriana does. She climbs on the counters as well and scoots over to Louis.

 

"Your hands." She says. "They only do that when you're nervous. Dad said you used to do it before concerts a lot. Why are you nervous, Papa?"

 

"Well your father is always saying wild things, you know that. I'm just fine." Louis smiles quickly at how smart his girls are. He twists the wedding ring on his finger. Both of them watch his hands. Adriana pulls them apart with a frown on her face.

 

"I think you're worried Dad isn't gonna like it." Lo says. It's not accusing, or a question. It's a simple fact.

 

That's why Louis is so surprised when she stands up on top of the bloody counter, Jesus Harry would have a heart attack,  and shakes his shoulders. "Stop it." Louis can see the rant face building. "Papa! Dada loves you. He loves us. He's gonna love this. We did so good. Don't make me call Uncle Liam over here to kick your butt. I didn't wake up before the sun for you to be all frowny face."

 

Louis laughs. "Alright, missy. First of all, get your feet off counter, that's disgusting. We eat here. Secondly, your Uncle Liam hasn't ever kicked my butt. I'm sure he couldn't even if I wanted to. Or even if I deserved it. Thirdly, thank you, love. I feel much better."

 

She hops down and right into his arms, clinging around his neck. "You're very welcome." She whispers and he squeezes her tighter.

 

"Go wake your Dada up." Louis says, giving her the two croissants and the cup of green tea. He walks very carefully to his and Harry's bedroom.

 

Adri is still sitting on the counter with her arms crossed. Louis tries to smile at her and ruffle her lion's mane, but she shakes her head at him. "What's your secret, Pa?"

 

His stomach sinks a little. "Nothing, love."

 

"We don't lie to each other." It's concerned and just barely angry. She's pouting now, hazel eyes sharper than ever. Louis breaks because she grabs his hands and squeezes. "That's what you told me when I asked you why you told me I was adopted."

 

Louis sighs. "Can you keep a secret, love?"

She nods excitedly and makes a pinkie promise gesture. "You're going to have another little brother or sister."

 

Adriana blinks and the squeals excitedly, jumping up and down on the counter. "Papa I'm so happy!"

 

Louis' smiling so big his cheeks hurt and she's still giggling when Harry walks in a moment later, sleepily putting a headscarf it and chewing on his croissant. Lo is following him, humming a song and carrying his tea.

 

"Good morning, my love." Harry murmurs, wrapping his koala arms around Louis. Louis presses a kiss to his neck and softly says "happy birthday darling, we made you a cake."

 

Harry jolts up in surprise. "What? You, what? You cooked?" He's looking at the coconut cake on the counter with interest. "Lo, tea please." He says. She gives him the tea. He takes a sip and spits it out comically.

Louis gasps in mock offense. "How dare you, Styles. Tomlinson. Whatever. I wake up at arse o'clock in the morning and bake your cake with your savage children, and I get tea in my face? I even gave you my last name. I suppose I see my place." The kitchen is filled with three different giggles and Louis' cheeks are starting to hurt again. He twists his wedding ring on his finger. No time like the present, right? Louis' gonna tell him. He's gonna tell him. "Honestly, my love. From the bottom of my never-ending heart, happy birthday. You and our little family mean more than the world to me, far more than words can express." His voice starts to crack. He fights through it. "And baking a cake with my kids is the least I can do for my wonderful husband. And I think, by this time next year, our little family is gonna be a bit bigger." He lets out a deep breath. It's out. Louis told him.

 

The kitchen is silent and then all at once, it's loud again. Harry is back in his arms, giving little hiccup-y gasps and Louis can feel tears. Lo's 'what?' and Adriana's squealing is heard as well. "You absolute bastard." Harry is saying wetly into Louis' neck. "I can't believe you kept this from me. I love you. I can't wait. This is the best birthday present. Do you know the gender? When did you find ou-"

 

"Harry. Breathe, for heaven's sake." Louis says. "I found out last week. Obviously it's too soon to figure out the gender. I didn't tell you because I thought it'd be a good birthday present, other than what you already received." Harry flushes against his neck and he snickers a bit.

 

"Wanker. Bastard. Pinhead. I'm so in love with you." He finally makes eye-contact with Louis and Louis goes breathless at the sea of green and pink lips and the dimples in his cheeks are incredibly deep, wow. Louis' gone for this boy. Man. Whatever, Louis loves him more than anything. He says as much.

 

Harry lets him go and faces their children. The girls are trilling about excitedly and Alex is starting to wake up in all of the chaos.

 

Louis' cheeks still hurt from smiling and the world is sparkling and he thinks to himself, wild nights have never have nothing on any of this.

  


**Author's Note:**

> tumblr: twinkalmighty.tumblr.com  
> twitter: twitter.com/louvelymistakes
> 
> kudos to char for posting this because my rabid dog decided to eat my laptop charger
> 
> (yes i used a panic! at the disco song to title this fic and you can't fight me about it)


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